Is unified memory on MacBook Pro M3 24GB as fast as VRAM for internlm2 5 7b chat i1?

Not always. MacBook Pro M3 24GB can often fit larger models thanks to unified memory, but a discrete GPU with dedicated high-bandwidth VRAM may still decode faster once the model fits. For this combination, the important distinction is capacity versus sustained throughput.

Can internlm2 5 7b chat i1 run on MacBook Pro M3 24GB?

YES — Runs Great

C46Usable

Estimated from fit model

internlm2 5 7b chat i1 needs ~8.6 GB VRAM. MacBook Pro M3 24GB has 17.3 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~16 tok/s.

Runtime: llama.cppCapacity: RoomyBandwidth: Very lowStack: StandardBottleneck: Memory bandwidth

Operating mode

Choose the run profile you care about

Interactive favors responsiveness, while light API and scale-out lean harder on serving readiness. The fit stays the same, but the recommendation lens changes.

Current mode

Balanced

Balanced for general local use. Keeps the ranking neutral across personal and serving workflows.

Capabilities:

Select quantization to explore

Q4_K_M (Medium quality) — 8.6 GB, 15.9 tok/s, Runs well

8.6 GB required17.3 GB available

50% VRAM used

Fit status

Runs well

Decode

15.9 tok/s

TTFT

12157 ms

Safe context

186K

Memory

8.6 GB / 17.3 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights4.3 GB

KV Cache0.8 GB

Runtime0.9 GB

Headroom2.6 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsinternlm2 5 7b chat i1 on MacBook Pro M3 24GB
1st promptCold start — includes initialization
>What is local AI inference?
Local AI inference means running an AI language model directly on your own hardware — your laptop, desktop, or server — instead of sending requests to a remote cloud API.

When you run inference locally the model weights are loaded into your GPU or unified memory. Each token you generate requires reading those weights from memory, so memory bandwidth is the main bottleneck for decode speed.

Key benefits of running locally:
  - Full privacy: your prompts never leave your machine
  - No per-token cost or rate limits
  - Works offline once the model is downloaded
  - Latency depends only on your hardware
2nd promptWarm — model ready, no init overhead
>How much VRAM do I need?
It depends on the model size and quantization level. A rough rule of thumb:

  Model size     Q4 (4-bit)    Q8 (8-bit)    FP16
  7B params      ~4.3 GB       ~7.5 GB       ~14 GB
  13B params     ~7.9 GB       ~13.9 GB      ~26 GB
  70B params     ~42.7 GB      ~74.9 GB      ~140 GB

Most people use 4-bit quantization (Q4_K_M) which gives 90-95% of full quality at a fraction of the memory. A 24 GB GPU can comfortably run most 7B-13B models.
Estimated: 15.9 tok/s decode · 12.2s TTFT (warm) · 40 tok/s prefill

What limits this setup

This setup is broadly balanced for this model.

Shared-memory contention still exists

The OS, browser, and inference runtime all compete for the same physical memory pool, so real-world headroom is less forgiving than raw capacity suggests.

Best improvement path

Performance by workload

Workload	Grade	Fit	Decode	TTFT	Context
Chat	C	Runs well	15.9 tok/s	6631 ms	186K
Coding	C	Runs well	15.9 tok/s	12157 ms	186K
Agentic Coding	C	Runs well	15.9 tok/s	17683 ms	186K
Reasoning	C	Runs well	15.9 tok/s	14367 ms	186K
RAG	C	Runs well	15.9 tok/s	22104 ms	186K

Inference speed

internlm2 5 7b chat i1 inference speed — tokens per second by GPU & Mac

Estimated decode speed (tokens/sec) for internlm2 5 7b chat i1 at Q4_K_M across popular GPUs and Apple Silicon, using the fastest local runtime per device. Fastest is RTX 5090 32GB at ~98 tok/s. Speed is memory-bandwidth bound, so cards that fit the whole model in VRAM run far faster than ones that offload to system RAM.

GPU / Mac	Memory	Quant	Speed (tok/s)	Fits?
RTX 5090 32GB	32 GB	Q4_K_M	98.0	Fits
RTX 4090 24GB	24 GB	Q4_K_M	98.0	Fits
RTX 4080 Super 16GB	16 GB	Q4_K_M	98.0

Quantization options

How internlm2 5 7b chat i1 (7B params) fits at each quantization level on MacBook Pro M3 24GB (17.3 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	2.7 GB	Low	C46
Q3_K_S	3	3.4 GB	Low	C46
NVFP4	4

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run internlm2 5 7b chat i1 on your machine.

Run

lms load hf-mradermacher--internlm2-5-7b-chat-i1-gguf && lms server start

Upgrade options

Hardware that runs internlm2 5 7b chat i1 well

MacBook Pro M2 Max 32GBBudget pick

32 GB Unified (+8)400 GB/s (+300)

Raises estimated decode speed by about 242%.54.3 tok/s decode

Raises estimated decode speed by about 242%.

Adds memory headroom for longer context windows and future model growth.

~$1,999 MSRP

MacBook Pro M2 Pro 32GBBest value

32 GB Unified (+8)200 GB/s (+100)

Raises estimated decode speed by about 106%.32.8 tok/s decode

Raises estimated decode speed by about 106%.

Adds memory headroom for longer context windows and future model growth.

~$1,999 MSRP

MacBook Pro M1 Pro 32GBApple upgrade

32 GB Unified (+8)200 GB/s (+100)

Raises estimated decode speed by about 91%.30.4 tok/s decode

Raises estimated decode speed by about 91%.

Adds memory headroom for longer context windows and future model growth.

~$1,999 MSRP

Frequently asked questions

Can MacBook Pro M3 24GB run internlm2 5 7b chat i1?

Yes, MacBook Pro M3 24GB can run internlm2 5 7b chat i1 with a C grade (Runs well). Expected decode speed: 15.9 tok/s.

How much VRAM does internlm2 5 7b chat i1 need?

internlm2 5 7b chat i1 (7B parameters) requires approximately 8.6 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

What is the best quantization for internlm2 5 7b chat i1?

The recommended quantization for internlm2 5 7b chat i1 is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

What speed will internlm2 5 7b chat i1 run at on MacBook Pro M3 24GB?

On MacBook Pro M3 24GB, internlm2 5 7b chat i1 achieves approximately 15.9 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 12157ms using Q4_K_M quantization.

Can MacBook Pro M3 24GB run internlm2 5 7b chat i1 for coding?

For coding workloads, internlm2 5 7b chat i1 on MacBook Pro M3 24GB receives a C grade with 15.9 tok/s and 186K context.

What context window can internlm2 5 7b chat i1 use on MacBook Pro M3 24GB?

On MacBook Pro M3 24GB, internlm2 5 7b chat i1 can safely use up to 186K tokens of context. The model's official context limit is —, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

See all results for MacBook Pro M3 24GB See all hardware for internlm2 5 7b chat i1

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